Insulation

Garage conversions usually require extra insulation as the garage space will be altered to a habitable room, and therefore has to comply with building regulations for insulation in this type of room. These regulations set a U-value for insulation, which gauges the rate of heat loss. These are set differently for walls, floors, and roofing. To comply with building regulations the garage conversion must meet the U-values in all three of the areas, but supplementary insulation can be installed to exceed these values and increase energy efficiency. Wall insulation for garage conversions is typically performed by making use of internal wall insulation, which adds insulated plasterboard to the existing walls. This will add thermal insulation and stop heat from dissipating through the walls. Insulation must also be added around doors and windows as these areas can leak heat particularly badly. Roofs for garage conversions will also require insulation. Pitched roofs need insulation to the same level as the rest of your home. Flat roofs additionally require insulation. This can be achieved using a cold roof system, where insulation is fixed between the roof joists along with ventilation to avoid condensation forming. The other possibility is a warm roof, where insulation is installed above the roof joists. Floor insulation is also required in garage conversions. This is less difficult if the floor level of the garage requires raising in order to meet the rest of the house as an extra layer of insulation can be easily added to either a elevated concrete floor, timber joists or a floating floor. If the floor doesn’t need to be raised it might be necessary to dig out the floor to add the required insulation.